Ireland set to stall UPC vote in ‘regrettable development’
Government says preparations for a referendum would be “rushed” if a vote were to take place in June | UPC proponents dismayed but describe referendum as “fraught” undertaking in current political climate | Fears mount that UPC vote could be used as “political football”.
Ireland is expected to delay its referendum seeking public approval to join the Unified Patent Court (UPC) alongside other European countries, in a development described as “regrettable” for Irish backers of the new court.
The Taoiseach (Prime Minister), Simon Harris has said that preparations for a referendum would be “rushed” if a vote were to take place alongside the local and European elections on June 7, as originally planned.
He confirmed the expected delay at a political event in County Limerick, in comments widely reported by Irish media.
Harris told reporters that the government would shortly make a final decision on whether or not to hold the referendum in less than three months’ time, and that the Minister for Enterprise Peter Burke has been instructed to bring a proposal on the issue before the Irish cabinet.
“I know this is an issue that has been discussed for many years. But in terms of the actual time frame to have a referendum campaign to allow the Electoral Commission to do its job, I think it’s important that we reflect on that and get that right in terms of the timing,” said Harris.
Under Irish law, the country’s constitution can only be amended if the proposed change has been approved by the people of Ireland in a referendum.
The expected delay comes after referendums proposing constitutional changes to wordings relating to care, a woman’s place in the home and the family were decisively rejected by Irish voters last month.
Powell Gilbert recently opened an office in Ireland, ensuring that its partners were qualified to practise there.
Speaking to WIPR, partner Penny Gilbert said that the government’s change of plans wouldn’t affect the firm’s Irish operations or its UPC strategy.
“Although we are disappointed in the potential delay to the referendum, it won’t affect our ongoing activities in Ireland where we have just appointed a new partner, Peter FitzPatrick, to head the office. In the meantime, our Dublin presence permits us to continue representing clients in the UPC.”
Delay is ‘unfortunate’ for businesses
Naoise Gaffney, vice president, IP at GH Research; professor of patent law at Trinity College Dublin; and chair of the corporate IP group at business group IBEC told WIPR that the anticipated delay was “unfortunate”.
“The delay of the referendum is a very regrettable development for Irish businesses, and for proponents of the UPC who were hoping to get to see what judges from a common law, native English speaking tradition could contribute to the system,” he said.
Business groups such as IBEC—Ireland’s largest business lobbying group, have long campaigned strongly for a referendum on the issue, arguing that UPC membership would make Ireland a more attractive location for companies in fields such as science, technology and engineering.
IBEC has forecast that an “conservative” estimate of the value of Ireland’s participation in the UPC to the Irish economy is in the region of €1.663 billion ($1.8 billion) per annum.
If it does eventually vote in favour of participation, Ireland would be the only native English-speaking country in the UPC, and the only country with a ‘common-law’ tradition to be participating in the new court.
‘Political football’
However, Gaffney added that holding a referendum is “a fraught undertaking even at the best of times”.
“There was always the danger that even an issue as benign as the UPC would be turned into a bit of a political football given the current Irish political climate,” he explained.
“Irish businesses look forward to working with the government to better prepare the groundwork for the rescheduled referendum, in the hope that Ireland may join and meaningfully contribute to a system that was agreed to and prioritised under an Irish EU presidency in 2013.”
Gilbert echoed this view.
“It’s important that the government has time to prepare adequately and to ensure that voters have a proper understanding of the issues, including the potential benefits that joining the Unitary Patent / UPC system will bring to Irish business and the local economy,” she said.
“We hope that this will lead to ratification of the UPC Agreement in due course and the establishment of an Irish local division, which will be a good addition to balance the UPC court system.”
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